President Obama has lunch at the Charcoal Pit on Route 202

Tanei Benjamin embraces President Barack Obama at the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, July 17, 2014, en route to speaking about transportation and infrastructure. Benjamin wrote the president a letter about her struggles as a single mother. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Barack Obama holds seven-month-old Jaidyn Oates during a stop at the Charcoal Pit in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, July 17, 2014, en route to speak about transportation and infrastructure. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The president must be taking food tips from the vice president.

President Obama came to Delaware Thursday to inspect the tilting bridge that caused authorities to shut down Interstate 495 and make a pitch for increased federal-private transportation funding, but first he stopped for lunch.

And he hit one of Vice President and Delaware native Joe Biden’s favorite haunts, the Charcoal Pit on Route 202 just north of Wilmington.

After Air Force One touched down at the Delaware Air National Guard Base near New Castle, his motorcade made a beeline for the iconic burger joint on Concord Pike.

While at the restaurant he was expected to meet with Tanei Benjamin, a single, working mother who wrote to the president in 2013.

Both supporters and protesters gathered along the route to meet the president.

The president’s motorcade pulled into the lot of the Charcoal Pit at 12:50 p.m.

Inside, the president shook hands and greeted patrons. He also picked up 7-month-old Jaidyn Oates, of Wilmington, who was with her parents eating lunch in a Charcoal Pit booth. Her father, Kenny Oates, snapped a picture.

“This is awesome! We are very proud of our president. He’s doing an awesome job,” said Jaidyn’s mom Lynn-Holly Oates.

She said she couldn’t believe her eyes when Obama walked through into the Pit.

“I thought I was on MSNBC Live,” she said.

President Obama ordered the Pit Special, a burger with fries.

The president chatted with the lunchtime crowd inside Route 202 eatery, a Delaware institution that serves burgers and milkshakes. He shook hands, held babies and offered fist bumps to customers.

“That looks like a big shake,” he said to children sharing a milkshake at one table.

“Me and Joe share shakes all the time,” he told them, referring to Vice President Biden.

Pat Grim, 67, of Newark, Del., said she decided to come for a burger after taking a friend to the doctor this morning. She did not expect to meet the president. She said she told Obama she has met Biden many times and “partied with him.” She teaches ballroom dancing at the university of Delaware.

To a young boy who got nervous and hesitated speaking to the president, Obama said: “I know. It’s nerve-wracking running into the president.”

One young girl, who looked to be about 4 years old, asked for a hug and jumped into the president’s arms.

Obama then sat down to eat with Benjamin. She wrote to Obama last year about her struggles as a single working mother of a daughter who is now 6 years old. After reading her story, the president sent a note to his senior staff that said, “This is the person we’re working for.”

Tanei, seated in a back corner booth, stood to hug the president with tears in her eyes. Obama ate a pit special, which is a cheeseburger and fries.

The presidential motorcade pulled out of the Charcoal Pit at 1:32 p.m., headed for the I-495 bridge construction site.

Earlier, Air Force One arrived at the 166th Air Lift Wing of the Delaware National Guard at New Castle Airport at 12:22 p.m.

The president was joined aboard Air Force One by U.S. Sen. Chris Coons and U.S. Rep. John Carney of Delaware, among other officials.

On the tarmac, he was greeted by Gov. Jack Markell, and the president gave a hug to both Attorney General Beau Biden, the vice presdident’s son, and his wife, Hallie. Also greeting was New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon; New Castle Mayor Donald Reese; Brigadier Gen. Carol Timmons, assistant adjutant general for the Delaware Air National Guard; and Col. Michael Feeley, commander of the 166th Airlift Wing on base.

Also on hand for the arrival were invited guests, including New Castle County Council President Chris Bullock and 30 or so members of the Delaware Army and Air National Guards.